Here's a second nod toward the Lee Load All. I got mine for $32.04 from a ad that I saw in the Shotgun News. In the news you will also see ad's for hulls where the cost is about $30.- for 500 plus shipping. If the local skeet range will let you scrounge them, all the better
I grabbed a 25# bag of 7.5 shot, a can of RedDot, 500 CCI 209 primers, and a bag of Winchester WAA12 wads. I wanted a 1oz. load that ran around 2 3/4 drams that I could hone my eye in prep for Dove season out here in Yuma.
I looked at what the Lee people had to say about loads, I looked at what the "Reloading for Shotguns" book had to say about loads, and I looked at a selection of loads from Hodgedon. For some reason, I saw little parallel's. I'm waiting on a Lyman Shotshell book to see what they have to say about loads - but I have a feeling that there will also be differences. So what does this mean to me (and you)?
Well, I can tell you this. I've reloaded metallic cartridges for about 20 years now, and I've mixed cases and primers (manufacturers) with no ill results. I know that for the ultimate in accuracy, it's best to segregate your components and sort them by lots. But all I'm looking at is for the reliability and the bang. I haven't been disappointed yet.
So why do the Shotshell load books make such a big deal about using ONLY this Hull, and ONLY this primer, and ONLY this wad for a certain load? But no mention is made about the differences in shot size. Interesting.
Anyway, I cut up some Remington target shells, some Win. Dove shells, some Fiocchi shells, and some Federal target shells. They were FUBAR anyway, so there wasn't any real loss. They were all structurally the same, The instruction sheet with the Lee Load All SAID that they were basically the same. So I tried loads using the afore mentioned components, and headed out to the field with a couple boxes of factory shells to compare results.
I know that I've probably got some of you fella's grimacing here, but every shell that I loaded went BANG in my Win Model 120 Ranger. There was no signs that I had unduely high pressure, the wads weren't mangled, and they smoked the pigeons like it was cool. About the only thing else that I could have done (by my reckoning) would have had a wad somewhere in the shell to raise the level of the wad/shot so as to get a really decent crimp in the Fiocchi shells. After the star crimp was started, and the final crimp applied, there was too much 'room' over the shot to fully close the shell.
The Remington and Winchester shells functioned perfectly.
So, and I'll add that I'm waiting on a shipment of Remington once fired hulls from mail order - was this Dumb luck? Was it me finding out the awefull secret that the power/firearm companies have been trying to hide about the interchange-ability of their components? Or is my guardian angel working over time...?
The load that I picked was a 2 3/4 dram load - definately on the low side of the pressure readings. I want you to know that if I were to attempt 'Upland Game Hunting Loads', or 'Magnum' loads, you can bet the farm that I would toe the line with components.
OK, lets hear it!
Unkel Gilbey